The Way Out Of Isolation

The moment where you wake up and realise that this was the place you have seen for the most part of your life.

Quietly, you ignore this thought and carry on with work. After all, you’re working towards making a change in your current situation. But in the midst of producing high quality work, achieving benchmarks, and gaining new knowledge.. you are bound again with this reality that hasn’t change.

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I have come into realisation that this is a battle of the mind and its also a sign that one has to make some changes in one’s life.

If I were to speak in behalf of many remote UX designers, I would definitely do, because we are hero’s in the emotional realms for users — but what about our lives? Sometimes, we care so much for our users, clients and web community that we lose ourself in the process.

It’s a fact that we can be so giving… but yet forget how to care for ourselves first.

Now, put those early moments when you wake up to 1 thing you can consistently do that makes you feel good. This could be 1 hour of mindfulness and meditation, or having a run to keep yourself active and fit. Don’t face the computer or phone. While you are doing it, keep a positive self image of yourself — it could be a future you. Also you could recite mantras that boost your self-beliefs. (I simply called myself “Super Tracey” because it made me feel great. You can do the same.) Don’t let the moment you wake up be boring — get some fun and excitement going. To add to this, journal it down and keep track of your progress consistently.

Morning routines are one thing. Another hurdle is how to keep a healthy social life.

Maybe being in Web/Tech has led us to believe communication online is the way of life, but allow me tell you — this isn’t how we are meant to communicate for the rest of our lives.

Humanly speaking, we need real communication in the form of Talking, Expressing and Listening.

Don’t believe in a lie that just because you are already popular on Dribbble or Instagram, that gives you the privilege of having a good social life.

Heck, even writing this isn’t real communication in my opinion — it is just a form of communication. You can disagree if you like.

Meet new people through events, co-working spaces or communities such as church. It’s hard, but you have to make this a conscious effort and it will be worth it. Having friends and family around you is a support system that you can’t afford not to have and which no money can buy — but just a small investment of your time.

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I think UX Designers should not just have the skill to bring users the best web or UI experiences, but also have greater outer and inner world experiences themselves. It’s time we bring up this subject, and that is why I am passionate to bring this to greater awareness.

If you felt that this message has resound you in some way, I would love to hear your thoughts, stories and response.

Hello! I am Tracey Wong, a freelance UX/UI designer based in PJ, Malaysia. I love helping small to large corporations with their UX and by bringing fresh ideas to their customer experience. When I'm not designing, I enjoy travel, food and photography.